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9938078 
Journal Article 
[Diagnostic yield of fine-needle aspiration cytology for the detection of thyroid cancer in pediatric patients] 
Grob, F; Carrillo, D; Martínez-Aguayo, A; Zoroquain, P; Solar, A; Nicolaides, I; González, H 
2014 
1 
Revista Médica de Chile
ISSN: 0034-9887
EISSN: 0717-6163 
142 
3 
330-335 
Spanish 
25052270 
BACKGROUND: Despite the low frequency of thyroid nodules (TN) in children, one of every four is malignant. Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) has a high accuracy detecting thyroid cancer.

AIM: To evaluate the performance of FNAC in TN in Chilean children to detect thyroid cancer.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: The pathological reports of 77 thyroidectomies and 103 FNAC carried out in patients aged less than 18 years, between 2002 and 2013 were reviewed. In 36 patients aged 15 ± 2 years (77% women), both the reports of the thyroidectomy and FNAC were available. The cytological specimens were reclassified based on Bethesda 2010. The histology was classified as benign (nodular hyperplasia and follicular adenoma, n = 18), or malignant (papillary, follicular and medullar carcinoma, n = 18). The concordance of the cytology with the final biopsy report was calculated.

RESULTS: FNAC classified 13 specimens as definitively benign and 13 as definitively malignant. Among these, these concordances with the pathological study of the biopsy was 100%. Of six cytology tests considered "suspicious for follicular neoplasm" by FNAC, four were benign (67%), and two malignant (33%). Of four cytology tests considered "suggestive of carcinoma" by FNAC, one was benign (25%), and three malignant (75%).

CONCLUSIONS: Among the studied children, there was a good concordance between FNAC and surgical biopsies. Therefore a FNAC should be carried out when malignancy is suspected in pediatric patients with a TN.